Driver Hits Woman Pushing Stroller in Bath Beach Crosswalk
A driver turning left in a Ram pickup hit Xia Ying Chen as she crossed Bath Avenue with a 2-year-old child in a stroller, killing Chen and injuring the child, police reports and city crash data show.
What We Know
Xia Ying Chen, 66, was crossing Bath Avenue at 25th Avenue with a signal while pushing a 2-year-old child in a stroller when Faheem Shabazz turned left in a Ram pickup and hit them, according to police and the city crash record. Chen was taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn and died there. Police reported that Shabazz remained at the scene and was charged with failure to yield. The city crash record cites driver inattention or distraction and failure to yield as contributing factors.
A left turn into a crosswalk
At about 1 p.m. on September 12, 2023, Faheem Shabazz, 56, was driving south on 25th Avenue in a Ram pickup and turning left onto Bath Avenue when he hit Xia Ying Chen in the crosswalk, police told reporters. The city crash record says Chen, 66, was crossing with the signal.
Chen was pushing a 2-year-old child in a stroller. Medics took Chen to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, where she was pronounced dead. News accounts agree the child was taken to a hospital, but they describe the child’s injuries differently: Brooklyn Paper reported no injuries, the Daily News reported a cut to the forehead, and News 12 reported scrapes and bruises.
Failure to yield charge followed the crash
Police said Shabazz remained at the scene. Brooklyn Paper reported that police said no criminality was suspected while the investigation continued, and that Shabazz was charged with two counts of failing to yield to a pedestrian. The Daily News also reported a failure-to-yield charge.
The city crash record lists driver inattention or distraction and failure to yield right of way as contributing factors for the driver and for Chen’s fatal injury.
A child was in the stroller with Chen
Brooklyn Paper identified the woman killed as Xia Ying Chen and reported that she was pushing her 2-year-old grandchild in a stroller. The Daily News described the child as Chen’s granddaughter and reported that a witness saw the child thrown from the stroller.
The Daily News reported that Shabazz worked as an MTA bus driver. Police identified him as the driver of the pickup involved in the crash.
Bath Avenue has a recent record of harm
The crash happened at Bath Avenue and 25th Avenue in Brooklyn.
CrashCountNYC’s location context for Bath Avenue in Brooklyn counted 260 crashes, 140 injuries, 6 serious injuries and 2 deaths from 2022 through June 1, 2026.
Elected officials called for accountability
Brooklyn Paper reported that records compiled by How’s My Driving showed the pickup involved had received nine traffic violations since December 2022, including three school-zone speeding tickets in 2023.
After Chen’s death, State Sen. Andrew Gounardes told Brooklyn Paper, “I’m outraged and angry that yet again someone with a history of not obeying traffic laws has killed someone.” State Sen. Iwen Chu called for the city Department of Transportation to study the area and said, “We must recognize that our streets need to be designed with safety in mind.”